1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a life jacket, in particular, for a water motor sport, which is useful for a manipulator and a fellow passenger (hereinafter, referred as to an athlete) of a motor boat, a power board, or a jet-ski (a trade mark) to wear on the case of a race or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A life jacket which an athlete of a motor boat or the like wears in the race is required to be characterized by 1) good impact absorption, 2) high chest region protection, 3) strong protection of a neck region, 4) a good floating posture and 5) a good motility or the like.
Accordingly, as a conventional life jacket for a motor boat race, a life jacket, which is formed to satisfy the above described requirements, is generally used, for example, a life jacket described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3009423 by the present applicant. This life jacket is provided with absorption materials on the opposite sides of a hard protection material in which a high-intensity fiber cloth such as a textile fabric or a knit fabric made of an aramid fiber is incorporated. At the same time, in this life jacket, an interior material provided with a floating material on the outside of one impact absorption material is packaged in cortexes of front and back bodies which are bonded in such a manner that the back body is formed to be longer than the front body and they are parted in the middle with the floating material side turned in. Further, in this life jacket, a pillow member is disposed on a neck region, a head region retroversion protective member is attached below the foregoing pillow member and a shoulder pad is attached to one shoulder region. Upon wearing this life jacket, the front and back bodies of the life jacket are fastened by a belt.
According to the above described life jacket, its interior material is thin and light, so that this life jacket achieves an effect when the athlete of the motor boat or the like wears it in the occasion of the race. However, its head region retroversion protective member is configured in such a manner that a member filled with a cushioned pad, is only attached beneath of the pillow member attached to the neck region, so that it can be said that the head region retroversion protective member is disengaged from the back body, namely, it is in a free state. Accordingly, upon participating in the race with wearing this life jacket in practice, for example, if the athlete drastically moves the body, its head region retroversion protective member is not capable of supporting the retroversion of his or her head completely, so that it has been rather difficult to protect a cervical vertebrae of a wearer. Additionally, in the case that the impact external force acts on a cervical region from a backward of the athlete, it has been rather difficult to effectively protect the cervical region from this external force.
The present invention has been made taking the foregoing problem into consideration, an object of the invention is to provide a life jacket, which is excellent in impact absorption and chest region protection and which is capable of effectively protecting a cervical region of an athlete even in the case that the athlete of the motor boat or the like wears this life jacket and which has a good motility in operation as well as which is capable of maintaining a good floating posture when the athlete who wears this life jacket drops off the boat or the like into water.
According to a first constitution of the life jacket of the present invention, which intends to solve the above described problems, the life jacket is provided with absorption materials on both of inner and outer sides of a hard protection material, in which a high-intensity fiber cloth such as a textile fabric or a knit fabric made of an aramid fiber is incorporated. At the same time, in this life jacket, an interior material provided with a floating material on the outside of one impact absorption material is packaged in cortexes of front and back bodies which are bonded in such a manner that the back body is formed to be longer than the front body and they are parted in the middle at a shoulder region, so that the interior material substantially takes the form of a waistcoat. Further, by extending an upper portion of the hard protection material of the foregoing back body of the life jacket along a neck region of the foregoing front and back bodies, a head region retroversion protective portion is configured. Upon wearing this life jacket, the front and back bodies of the life jacket are fastened by one piece of belt or two pieces of belts. The above described high-intensity fiber cloth may be selected from a glass fiber, a carbon fiber and other high-intensity chemical fiber in addition to the above mentioned aramid fiber.
In other words, if the athlete of the motor boat or the like wears the present life jacket on the occasion of the race, the hard protection material, the impact absorption material and the floating material of the interior material, which is packed in the cortex of the front body of the life jacket, protect the athlete, so that it is possible to prevent the athlete from being injured or it is possible to ease off the injure. Alternatively, the head region retroversion protective portion, which is formed with being integrated with the hard protection material packed in the cortex of the back body of the life jacket, effectively protects the cervical region, so that it is possible to prevent the cervical vertebrae of the athlete from being injured. Further, since the back body of the life jacket is formed longer, the back body is not crawled up even when the athlete folds his or her legs under himself or herself with taking an anteverted posture, so that a motility thereof becomes good and it is possible to effectively protect a hip of the athlete.
If the hard protection material and a shoulder pad are made of a reinforced glass or a reinforced plastic such as an FRP, they become light and they provide a protective effect. Alternatively, the floating member has buoyant force as a matter of course, and further has the impact absorption. By using a life jacket having water resistance and oil resistance, it is possible to obtain the forgoing effects more noticeably.